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Kids In The Middle Promotes New Chief Program Officer

ST. LOUIS (September 22, 2022) –  Kids In The Middle (KITM), a nonprofit agency, is pleased to announce the promotion of Heather Barnett as the Chief Program Officer. Barnett joined the KITM Executive Team in 2021 as the Director of Clinical Programs and has over 16 years of mental health experience, specifically focusing on suicide/crisis prevention, intervention, and postvention. She has served in the role of Senior leadership for over nine years.

Throughout her career, Heather received an award from the American Association for Suicidology for her development of innovative programming for suicide prevention and was recognized for her exceptional work in suicide prevention by both the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Heather is a certified CALM trainer and a certified Question Persuade Refer (QPR) Trainer.

During her time at KITM, Barnett has increased the organization’s number of children’s groups from 14, at the beginning of the year, to 20. This number continues to grow and allows KITM to provide even more mental health services for children experiencing the trauma of separation and divorce. She has also successfully launched the School Outreach Program (SOC) to begin in St. Louis County this school year. The SOC program allows KITM therapists to provide Group Counseling services to kids in public and private schools in the greater St. Louis region.  

“We are enthusiastic for Heather to move into her new role at KITM,” says Katy Walter, CEO of KITM. “I am confident that under her leadership, she will continue to guide the clinical team and further impact our goal of helping 45,000 kids and families by 2031.”

As the Chief Program Officer, Barnett will continue to lead KITM’s clinical team and help to provide more kids and families with life-changing social and emotional skills to heal from the trauma of divorce and separation. Her experience, leadership skills, and passion for helping children and families will be invaluable to Kids In The Middle for years to come.

About Kids In The Middle

Kids In The Middle (KITM) helps children and families transition to a new way of life before, during and after separation and divorce, for the sake of creating healthier futures for all involved. Founded in 1977, KITM is a nationally accredited nonprofit agency that provides comprehensive and confidential counseling, education and support services focused on the entire family.  KITM is a proud member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis and receives funds from the St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund. KITM is located at 2650 S. Hanley Rd. in St. Louis, Mo. For more information, visit www.kidsinthemiddle.org.

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